


Ever the Twain: A Sibling Story

by silveradept



Series: The Suck Fairy's Greatest Hits: The Dragonriders of Pern [23]
Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Faint Shaming, Fainting, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept
Summary: A commentary read with excerpts of Ever the Twain, a short story of an indeterminate time period, but suspected to be of the Second Pass of Pern, part of the Dragonriders of Pern novels.
Series: The Suck Fairy's Greatest Hits: The Dragonriders of Pern [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663699
Kudos: 2





	1. A Twin Story

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Director's Cut of meta originally posted at [Slacktiverse](https://slacktiverse.wordpress.com).
> 
> Content notes for each chapter are in their respective posts, and all content notes in the work are in the tags.
> 
> Director's commentary will be rendered _[in a manner like this.]_

Last time, we saw the beginning of what Pern will look like in the immediate aftermath, as the dragons wind down their protective duties (ish) and the wealth gap between the haves and haves-not seeks to widen itself exponentially.

However, we have a short story to go to before we move on. This one was also collected and published in A Gift of Dragons, in this millennium, no less. 2002 is the year in question, and we have twins as protagonists.

**Ever the Twain: Content Notes: Faint-shaming**

Our story starts with a little self-insert fantasy from Neru, often called Ru, flying with his dragon called Nerith, before being abruptly called back to reality by having someone in his peer group step on his Berserk Button, calling his twin sister, Nian, "Ninny." Neru threatens Flamel, the responsible party, with "yet another bloody nose", suggesting this is not the first incidence of this sequence. Flamel is up for some boxing, but one of the other children, Orla, intervenes long enough that the adults arriving on scene dismiss the children as a lot to go to their lessons with the Harper. Who is explicitly tagged as being unhelpful in the matter, having called it "childish bickering" when the last fistfight on the matter erupted in front of him. Typical Harper behavior, given what we've seen from inside the Hall.

We get the first taste that these twins might be more than just a pair born together as Nian contemplates the upcoming reality that the twins are going to be separated soon.

> Being the more reserved twin, she couldn't imagine life without her brother at her side, even if she could always sense him. When her parents had moved Neru to a bedroom in the lean-to, she had spent many wakeful nights without his comforting presence beside her, even though she was well aware that boys and girls were always separated when they got to a certain age. But being in totally different places...She gave herself a mental shake. It would do no good to worry now.

Neru's prospects seem to be an apprenticeship at a Hall somewhere, later suggested that he might be a good fit for the Harpers, while Nian can look forward to being married off to "a farmer on the North Shore." Nian will later mentally voice her unhappiness at that idea, having met her prospective husband and found him dull. The twins, however, have hatched a plan to see if they can't Impress a pair of fire-lizards, so they can send messages to each other over the distance and not feel so far apart. Orla gently teases Neru about the possibility of being a dragonrider, and that since there's a queen egg, it's possible Nian might manage it, too.

> "Who would want a Ninny for a rider?" Nian asked scornfully.  
>  "You shouldn't call yourself that, Ni," Ru said with a fierce scowl. "A ninny you're not. Don't even think it of yourself."  
>  Nian glanced gratefully at her brother.  
>  "You can't let the teasing of a dimwit like Flamel get to you," Orla said with equal severity. "As we used to say, 'Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you'."  
>  Nian gave a snort and wished she could shake off such jibes as easily, but she didn't have that kind of confidence. No one ever teased Orla. Orla was self-assured and pretty, with very curly black hair that framed her oval face. Her nose was straight and small, her mouth wide and friendly. Orla had all the feminine qualities that Nian did not see in herself. She didn't consider herself even marginally attractive.

I'm guessing this is at least set somewhere in the AIVAS, if not post-AIVAS period, mostly so that I don't have to wonder, yet again, how ancient-even-for-colonists phrases and words managed to survive the future, and also this long on Pern. If the computer exists or existed, I can handwave it as old slang becoming fashionable again with the youngsters.

More importantly, though, I can't say I'm at all pleased with the way that nobody is taking the problems of the kids seriously, not even the kids themselves. Names do hurt, and they can and do affect the way children develop. Children internalize the messages you put in front of them, like "Girls aren't good at math and science," or, perhaps as we learned with Piemur's hazing, "The adults won't intervene until someone gets seriously hurt." I suspect Nian might also be internalizing "pretty people don't get picked on," which is... maladaptive, to put it nicely.

That said, Nian and Neru, so far, sound like actual children and siblings, and are protective of each other, even if nobody else is going to be. So when Flamel lays into Neru again about his obsession with becoming a dragonrider, Nian tries to defend him, although Flamel doesn't treat her as a serious threat. He does treat Orla's threat to reveal that he picks on them because he has a crush on Nian seriously, and beats a hasty retreat before it can actually be said aloud. "I pick on you because I like you" is another trope of childhood I despise, but thankfully this is the only time it gets used.

_[It's pointed out in comments to the original that it's never actually said which twin Flamel has a crush on, and that it might be a legitimate method of sussing out whether someone is the same orientation as you by asking them what kind of dragon they would want to ride. So it's entirely possible that Flamel teasing Neru about his dragonrider crush is trying to figure out whether he could confess his own crush to Neru. Not that I think that version of the trope is any better. I assumed it was Nian because Pern is fundamentally a cis-het patriarchy, excepting for the sexually deviant dragonriders, who have orgies and gay sex, but it doesn't have to be the case.]_

As the kids head in for their lessons, we find out that not only is Orla pretty, she's a fairly skilled weaver and appears to be the only child that might be considered for an Artist's Hall, which we haven't seen exist since Hall Domaize all the way back in time. Apparently they survived? Or maybe were revived in the AIVAS times? But now Orla's starting to look like a perfect person, which might set some teeth on edge if she weren't a secondary character.

Before the lessons can get started, though, there's a wild clamor that dragons have come on Search to Lado Hold, and so the children are lined up as prospective candidates for the blue and green riders to examine. There's one man (R'ditk) on the blue and two women (Sarty and Conna) on the greens, further confusing the time this story takes place, but suggesting it's at least past the point where Mirrim has impressed Path, or it's on the revised timeline where there have always been green women riders and nobody actually noticed until it was pointed out.

_[The presence of the Artist's Hall and the regular amount of green women riders recruiting for Threadfall suggests that it's actually the Second Pass, since nobody mentions the upcoming end of Threadfall and the likely light duty that these candidates will have to go through before the end of the Pass. So, instead of this being a coda to the Ninth Pass, chronologically, this should follow Dragonseye / Red Star Rising, and probably be put in that spot in the series, except that there's something that happens between Neru and Nian that, if I put this story here, right before we dive into the Lorana and Fiona books, I can call it foreshadowing, rather than it appearing as a one-off somewhere in the middle of that, and, since this short story is written in 2002, it's the closest material that Todd has to work from when writing his own books, whether by himself or in conjunction with Anne. Sometimes the act of putting things in a reading order means that you end up creating meaning for later things in earlier ones, and I suspect this is intentional on the author's part, even if it ends up being accidentally so on mine.]_

In either case, there's a good crop from Lado Hold - Orla and Chaum are picked up straight out, and while everyone hopes that both twins are selected, the initial foray looks like Nian will go and Neru won't. This distresses Nian, because if that holds she'll "have deserted him [Neru] and stolen his dream all in the same moment." Nian is not having that.

Her change of opinion is enough that Oswith calls Conna in for a consultation.

> **She is very strong!** Oswith told her rider. **I can** hear **her, Conna. But she will not go without him.**  
>  Remaining at Oswith's side, Conna looked at the twins.  
>  "What is your name?" she asked Nian.  
>  "Neru and Nian," the twins chorused in unison.  
>  [...Neru goes through the same despair Nian did...]  
>  "Have you ever been separated from each other?" Sarty asked, startling everyone.  
>  "No, rider Sarty," Neru replied.  
>  "We're just better together at everything," Nian added stoutly.

The riders point out that the dragons have only really been interested in Nian, distressing Palla, the twins' mother. The riders also say that it's customary to ask the Lord and at least one parent for permission to take the children on Search, which I don't remember being part of the process at all. _[Yet another reason to slot this into the Second Pass, rather than the Ninth.]_ There were some mentions of people who had been held back from it, but that sounded more like Lords or parents who were adamant their child had other plans, rather than denying a request made in the first place.

Seeing the possibility that they might be separated and Neru's dream crushed, Nian comes up with a gem of an [Indy Ploy](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IndyPloy) to postpone the separation and asks if Neru can accompany her as family to the hatching, since it's unlikely anyone else from Lado Hold will make it.

> Conna paused a moment and looked at her dragon, lost in a telepathic conversation.  
>  **The boy is strong but his twin shields him from me,** Oswith said to her rider. **I cannot see his potential clearly. Perhaps he should come along as a candidate, too.**  
>  "Oswith is undecided about Neru as a candidate, but we will bring him with us regardless," Conna said finally. Both twins let out their breath in a rush. "Never fear, Nian, your brother will remain with you until the Hatching. There is, however, no guarantee that any of those selected on Search will Impress; the hatchlings make that decision."

And since we have yet to have a story where a viewpoint character actually failed to get a dragon, we still don't know what happens if they don't actually Impress.

_[This is one of the few direct times that we have in this entire sequence that people manifest psi powers independently of having dragons to facilitate it for them. Lessa had it, although it got buried for a good long while. I mention it here because as we get into the Todd books, it's going to become clearer and clearer that Lorana and Fiona both have manifested psi powers, and there's explicitly a precognitive that accompanies a trader caravan and helps them navigate the future to their profit. This is the sort of thing that was the premise of the Talents series, and Pern is in the same extended universe, since it also contains the Federation of Sentient Planets in it, but as time and authorship go on, there's a lot less of being ambiguous about whether the psi powers that were present in the first few books really are that, or were just a case of[Early Installment Weirdness](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EarlyInstallmentWeirdness). Which is why this story is here and not with Dragonseye, because between this story and the entire revised Ninth Pass of Pern, there's been a specific decision to make the psi powers more prominent and obvious, rather than playing them off as something that maybe is and maybe isn't. The whole series is moving in a direction where the psionic elements (and, regrettably, the time travel elements) are taking much more prominence and visibility, creating new problems while other ones are solved or handwaved. That's the trend line I want to highlight here, because all of the other short stories have essentially been self-contained and occasionally either fleshing out some lore or giving us a perspective on a character who will become a name in a novel (or who has already become a name in a novel, depending). All of the short stories are optional, in that reading them doesn't mean that you get key bits that you would otherwise miss, but having them makes certain things easier and slightly more understandable. Or, in the case of Beyond Between, completely confusing. Anyway, point is that when we get to the Fiona and Lorana books, there's going to be a lot of do they-don't they about psi powers, trying to be coy and mysterious about it when the trend has been for several works that yeah, they definitely do.]_

Also, Oswith had mentioned not a few paragraphs earlier that Nian wasn't going to come without Neru. Oswith was very certain about Nian's potential. Yet that same potential is interfering with Oswith evaluating Neru. I'm a bit surprised that nobody went, "Well, shoot, this one has to come with us with that kind of potential, so we should totally go along with this idea she's floating." Oswith and Conna seem much more ambivalent about the whole matter than I would have expected, since they discovered such a strong potential in Nian.

There is a flurry of packing and goodbyes, and we find that Nian is still firmly in the camp of "Neru has to become a dragonrider," even if she's less certain about her own prospects. When they arrive as candidates at the Weyr, as part of the tour and explanation, there's something that makes me wonder if becoming a rider, or even getting Searched for it, is something that people aspire to for mundane reasons as well as religious and majestic ones:

> "There's always something to eat for hungry riders. We keep klah, soup, and porridge warm all day and all night." She pointed to a hearth at the far end of the cavern where, indeed, pots sat at the back, keeping warm. "And fresh bread when it's ready."  
>  Ru grinned at his sister. He was always hungry, now that he was growing tall and filling out his bones. Pretty soon he'd be taller than Nian.

Coming from a place where a bad harvest or a bad catch might mean starvation, to be told there was infinite food available might make someone scheme to figure out how to stay at a Weyr even if they never Impressed. Instead, we get a joke about the neverending appetite of teenage boys, and the tour continues, where the candidates get shown where they will be staying while they wait.

> She pointed to the curtained passage that led to the baths and necessaries.  
>  "And we expect everyone living in the Weyr to be clean for breakfast and dinner every day.

So not only is there infinite food, but indoor bathing and toiletries. Perhaps a Lord Holder's child wouldn't be impressed by this, but there's a lot more excitedness about choosing one's alcove than there is at the fact that for at least a little while, all of these people are going to be fed, housed, and can care for themselves with extravagance.

After the tour, and a snack, the Weyrlingmaster, H'ran, introduces himself and runs through how the candidates know if a dragon is theirs, and also many of the common dangers associated with dragonets finding their match. He shows them the barracks, and then the eggs themselves, as several of the unprepared do the "Hatching dance" on the hot sand. They go amongst the eggs, and we're introduced to Robina, the Masterfarmer's daughter, who will be taking on the role of the designated stuck up snob, who believes she was promised the queen egg. After the candidates meet the eggs some, H'ran gathers them to help out with necessary chores, like changing the dressings on dragons that were hurt in the most recent Threadfall. The twins get on with C'tic and Brith, helping peel and replace the dressings on the dragon with speed and a good touch.

And then someone faints, and we are reminded that dragonriders are not good people.

> To one side of the infirmary, one of the other riders exclaimed in dismay, "Shards. We've got another fainter. Someone get me a cold compress while I brush the sand off her; she certainly hit the dirt with a bang!"  
>  Neru peered around those gathered to assist the fainter and he chuckled. "It's the girl in blue, Ni," he said with a little smirk. "The one who fancied your egg."  
>  "There's usually one who's not good with wounds," C'tic said. "Has someone brought the restorative? That one will make a fine rider!" His tone was sarcastic.  
>  "You'd think she'd be used to injured animals, being the Masterfarmer's daughter," Nian murmured to her brother.  
>  "Now, she can't help the way she is," Neru said with considerably more charity than his sister expressed, "even if she was promised the gold."  
>  "I'd pity the gold," Nian replied.

The author really has a problem with women who exist outside a fairly narrow band of possible personalities. And tends to use other women to deride them, so as to set up minimum solidarity between the women against their hostile world.

Neru is also right - some people faint at the sight of blood, and perhaps Robina's dragon is much more messed up than Brith. But given that the narrative already shamed a queen rider for vertigo and for getting fat, it's at least consistent in being terrible about possible queen rider ailments.

Brith also gives the twins a thrill by responding directly to them when Neru asks a question. Neru thinks it might be a sign of legitimacy, and Nian lets on again that the twins might share a telepathic bond of their own.

> "And you can always hear them?" Nian asked. "I can usually hear my twin brother--especially if he's in trouble."  
>  "Ah, I thought you two looked alike."  
>  "Oh, we're not completely alike," Nian said. "Neru's much stronger and smarter. He'll make a splendid dragonrider."  
>  "You both will," C'tic surprised her by saying.  
>  "How do you know that?"  
>  "My dragon told me so," C'tic said, and his smile was kind, not teasing.

After finishing the changing of bandages, the twins ask if they can help again. Brith takes the opportunity to suggest that Nian might find a good career as a dragon healer. Nian is surprised by the suggestion, but the dinner bell rings before there's any explanation on why Nian is startled.

We also finally get an acknowledgement of how different the situation at the Weyr is compared to Lado Hold.

> "Hey, this is great food," Neru said after he took his first heaping forkful.  
>  "It's meat, you mean," Nian said, teasing her brother.  
>  "Makes a great change from all that fish," Neru replied, selecting yet another slice from the platter in the center of the table.  
>  "Just don't make a pig of yourself here," she added in a low tone so no one else would hear her. "We've never gone hungry, you know, and we must uphold the honor of Lado Hold."  
>  "Humph," Neru grunted and gestured around the table where the other candidates were equally as diligent in reducing the contents of the various serving dishes. "Tell that to the others."  
>  "I wouldn't dream of it," Nian said with great dignity.

Yes, this is worth mentioning - I'd bet most of the candidates have had to deal with scarcity and hunger, and I'd bet almost all of them have not had meat except for very special occasions. Because herdbeasts and milchbeasts are extremely resource-intensive, and if nobody can put a sharp stone, stick, or arrowhead through the brain of a wherry at distance, it's grains, roots, crops, maybe fruit, and maybe fish for your diet. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the candidates have an adverse reaction to having that much meat in a single meal to process, because their bodies have not gotten used to it from having a meat-rich diet.

Nian also acknowledges the oddity of having a Harper/singer in the Weyr playing regularly, since the Hold Harper only performs intermittently and it's a special occasion when he does.

And they both grin at the perpetual availability of hot water as they decide they want a bath before others think about it when dismissed for the night. I think they're at least peripherally aware that Weyr life is several steps up from Hold life, but they're not acting like they've been transported up to a standard of living that would be nearly inconceivable.

_[This is really a big step up for both of them, and I would expect them both to be awed at the possibility that there's endless food, large amounts of hot water, and the expectation that they should avail themselves of both as much as they want or need to. If this is the way that every dragonrider candidate gets the tour, then I would expect a lot more of them to be awestruck at this glimpse of how the people who really are wealthy life. It's like taking a tour on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but instead of just watching, you get to live their life for a little while.]_

Nian's bath and shampoo brings back a memory of asking why her mother married, if she doesn't like fish, which nets a very practical answer: they loved each other, the husband had land, even if she didn't know it was going to smell of fish, and he could provide food for everyone, even if it is just fish for dinner (although he also apparently spends significantly to put some beef on the table on occasion). Nian could look forward to some or none of those things in her arranged marriage.

Robina interrupts the memories by angrily demanding when Nian's going to be done, since she was first in, and then insults her as a "...twinling from a fish hold. I suppose it's as well if we let you get really clean." Which provokes Nian to point out that Robina must really need to clean all the sand out of her hair (from fainting), and then Orla tells Robina to stop nagging, and Robina stomps off, which conveniently (but not intentionally) gives Nian the opportunity to give her bathroom to one of the other girls waiting, which sets Robina off even more, but Nian is moving away from that space and can't hear any more of it.

After a bit to herself, Orla asks to come in and talk with Nian. They start with Robina. Orla focuses on how she's never seen a Master's daughter be so arrogant. Nian focuses on how pretty she is in a single line before talking about how she fainted and how that has to count against her. Then they _both admit that the wounds they saw on the dragons were "stomach-churning"_.

_[Tag, it's a cocowhat.]_

I guess I'm unreasonable in expecting that might elicit sympathy instead of scorn, like it did for Debera when the boys were confronted with the reality of having to carve their own dragon food.

The conversation between Orla and Nian ends with Orla desperately wishing for Nian's straight hair (which makes me immediately want to picture Orla as Black in a world without proper hair care products) and Nian saying she wouldn't want straight hair if she had it.

Since the hatching starts next, we'll take a break and pick back up next week.


	2. A Jaxom Ploy

Last week, we met Nian and Neru, twins who might or might not have a telepathic bond with each other, who were plucked from their coastal hold on Search - the dragons were sure of Nian, and Nian hid Neru well enough from the dragons that they took him as well, just in case. There was some tacit admission that the Weyr lives a lot better than the Hold they came from does, a designated Mean Girl who turns out to also be a fainter at wounds everyone agrees were pretty nasty to see, and a day of chores and food for everyone.

**Ever The Twain: Content Notes:**

The second morning dawns with a gong alarm to wake everyone up. Nian is a bit disoriented, but still very focused on the idea that Neru needs to Impress. As morning chores are being assigned, the dragons start humming to indicate the hatching is about to start, and everyone heads back, full of nerves, to change and go to the grounds. Nian sees Robina while she's washing up and the narrative isn't willing to cut Robina a break.

> Robina was in the washroom, vigorously brushing her blond hair with her fingers.  
>  "I don't think the dragons will notice your hair, Robina," Nian said encouragingly, but the girl glared at her.  
>  "That's all **you** know, twinling," she snapped back, a petulant expression on her face. Her brushing increased in vigor, and she swore that she saw that sand still fell from her locks. "Let me alone," she added nastily.

Yes, what a bitch Robina is, because she's pretty, and blonde, and might still have sand in her hair despite her best efforts and someone is insulting her by referring to that hair after treating her poorly yesterday. There's no way for Robina to know that Nian is being serious and nice with her comment. But the narrative is more than ready to pile on her for being upset at the protagonist.

And then it's the hatching in earnest. As seems to be the case with all of the hatchings we've seen, a bronze pops out first and everybody says how that's a good sign. The second egg to hatch is the queen, and this bit happens, because Robina deserves no sympathy:

> Robina was already hastening toward the little queen, though she was clutching at her stomach as she approached. It amused Nian that the snotty Robina was also subject to nausea and nervousness.

Yet not a little while before, Nian declared in her own head that she would "die of shame if she spewed up all that porridge and redberry jam." Empathy is still a finite resource on Pern, only for the deserving and the worthy.

Despite hearing a voice in her head declaring themself to be very hungry, Nian is still very focused on Neru, who is having some serious anxiety that everyone around him is Impressing and none of the dragons seem to be showing the slightest interest in him. Before he can get too far into that idea, though, the queen dragon trips Nian and walks up her back to get her attention, giving her a mental earful about how hungry she is and wondering if Nian can even hear her. Quinth, as she calls herself, has also given Nian a nosebleed by tripping her, and can't really understand why Nian is so focused on her brother, instead of giving Quinth the attention and food she clearly deserves. Quinth does get fed. The Ista Weyrwoman comes by and helps Nian get clean, commenting on how it was obvious to everyone but Nian that Quinth wanted her from the moment her shell cracked. "Queens are very determined," we're told.

This turn of events, of course, sets off Robina.

> "How did it happen that **she** was chosen by the queen and not me?" demanded Robina, standing in front of them, pointing an accusatory finger at Nian.  
>  **I didn't choose her** , Quinth said to Nian, flicking a wingtip at Robina in dismissal.  
>  "Well, this is outrageous!" Robina retorted, as she dodged Quinth's wing tip for fear of being pushed into the hot sands. When she regained her balance, Robina placed her hands on her hips while tapping one toe in the sands.  
>  "There are green dragons hatching, Robina," the Weyrwoman said pleasantly, pointing to the right. As Nian glanced in that direction, she saw Orla patting a green dragon with one hand and shoving meat toward it with the other.  
>  "They are the most valuable dragons in Threadfall," the Weyrwoman said. "And far more difficult to train. Take a challenge once in your lifetime, Robina. It would do you good."

We haven't met the Weyrwoman until now, and there's no textual explanation as to why the Weyrwoman would know Robina by name and disposition. Perhaps we're supposed to assume that Robina has been here long enough and loud enough to attract the Weyrwoman's attention, being the daughter of the Masterfarmer might mean she was Searched first. And the author certainly seems to believe this is putting her in her place, except for one small thing... 

> Eyes wide with outrage, Robina stamped toward the exit, head high. Amazingly enough, a shiny wet green dragonet was stumbling after her as fast as it could go.

...all of those things that are supposed to be terrible about Robina underlie something quite positive, as she's attracted the attention of a dragonet. I can't tell why, honestly, unless this is supposed to be a final snub at her, that she's good enough for a dragon, but not the one she wanted, or that we're supposed to snicker at how quickly she'll lose her snobbish demeanor as the lowest ranked dragonrider and/or how that attitude will be raped out of her over time as her green dragon rises to mate again and again. (Mirrim remained Mirrim with Path, so that's no guarantee.)

As it is, Neru has come back to an egg that's got a serious crack in it, and is verbally encouraging the dragon inside to break out. Nian moves to go help her, but the Weyrwoman holds her back.

> "We've discovered that if an egg doesn't crack on its own, the occupant is probably damaged and it is best to leave nature to take her course."  
>  "And let the dragon die?" Nian was appalled.

Well, shit. This confirms that we can't be post-Ruth, then, because that would have overturned that kind of thinking, or at least made them think twice about it. This hatchling has made at least one crack in the shell, which is more than Ruth did, I believe, so there's even more of a chance there's a viable dragonet inside.

_And there will be some other opportunities later on for eggs to get smashed open and their dragons freed, rather than having them break out, when we get to the Todd books and collaborations, specifically because there aren't enough dragons to go around, so if a few of them need some help getting out of their shells, then that's what they'll get, by Godfrey. And, conveniently, those kinds of dragons will often go to people who have had a little bit of reluctance to joining the dragonrider crew or are people that Fiona very definitely wants to have dragons because they're good people and her friends.]_

Nian asks her dragon for her advice, and finds out that her dragon may be much more suited to her personality than she wants to admit.

> **A Hatchling must break his own shell?** she asked her dragon.  
>  **It shows the strength of the dragon within** , Quinth informed her.  
>  **How do you know that? You're only just hatched yourself.**  
>  **There are things dragons know instinctively about other dragons** , Quinth replied with a faint reproof in her mental tone.  
>  **But my brother** has **to Impress** , Nian said in almost a moan, her eyes on the shell of the egg beside her brother, who was stroking the casing and urging its occupant to try again.  
>  **It is as hungry as I was** , Quinth told Nian. **It only needs food**.  
>  **Tell the Weyrwoman so we can break its shell for Neru.**  
>  **There are some things one must do for one's self** , Quinth replied. **I made it and I was hungry. I am still hungry.**  
>  As Nian scraped another handful of meat out of the bowl, nearly the last, she had a sudden, decisive idea.

Nian puts two and four together and hatches yet another Indy Ploy, loudly declaring she needs more meat for the glutton and then telling Quinth to trip her as she passes by the egg. Quinth does so eventually, and surprise, surprise, Nian manages to put the heavy bowl right on the egg as she falls down, smashing enough of the egg to free the dragon within. Neru Impresses Larinth, a bronze, and Nian gives her some of Quinth's food bowl to feed him with, which sets Quinth off that her rider was giving _her_ food to some other dragon, but other riders immediately provide enough food bowls that Quinth has to shut up and swallow the meat being shoved in her mouth or choke on it.

The Weyrwoman and the Weyrlingmaster check Larinth out to make sure he's okay, even as Quinth assures Nian that he is definitely okay in that same tone that suggests it's obvious to her.

I still don't understand why a Weyr wouldn't want to try and improve their fighting strength, if the other dragonets know whether there a viable dragon in there or not, but apparently Pern is so hardcore Rand that apparently Kitti Ping programmed it into their DNA, and so no help is ever given to any dragon ever.

Having satisfied themselves with Larinth's health, the Weyrwoman asks if Nian's trip was as accidental as it seemed. Nian sticks to her story that Quinth was hungry and trying to get at the meat scraps in the bowl. I'm not sure anybody actually buys it, and Nian is pretty sure that the Weyrwoman didn't buy it, and as the twins get helped off to the barracks, H'ran gives Nian a wink, suggesting he knows the truth, but there's a live dragon who's made an Impression, so nobody is really going to do anything about it. Conna comes to congratulate them, which makes Nian worry that she's going to say something about the circumstances of their search, but she just grins and says, "It is always what the hatchling decides, my dear," and that's it. Nobody is going to say that Neru is somehow not legitimately a dragonrider. H'ran even seals it by using the contracted form of Neru's name when they enter the space in a little while.

Once they actually get on their way to the barracks, we see that the green that was chasing Robina caught up to her, and Robina is intently and blissfully shoving food into the dragonet's mouth.

All that's left, really, is for Neru to thank Nian for all her help and admit that he had a giant fit of jealousy (his first about Nian) at the fact that Nian was very clearly Searched and he wasn't. Nian confesses she was horrified at the thought of stealing his dream and being separated from him in the same day. Neru points out that as a queen rider and a bronze rider, they are going to be separated, since Nian's queen will become a junior queen at some other Weyr, while Neru stays put at Ista. But since they both have dragons, Quinth reminds them, they'll always be no more than a thought away, and never alone.

There's a lot spoken about, but not actually elaborated on, how strong the bond might have been between the twins before the dragons, and what it might have been like if only Nian had Impressed, and hints, again, at what the economics of Pern are like, and not nearly enough of people standing a bit slack-jawed at how much nicer everything is in the Weyr compared to home. And why that might be.

Well, that's it. Those were the last words that we have credited solely to Anne McCaffrey. At the first author, anyway, the Dragonriders of Pern is finished. Everything past this point attested to the series is officially attributed with or solely to her son, Todd. .

It took a few years to get there, but we've ridden it out.

It's been quite the time spent with all of you, and I've had a lot of fun (and cocowhats) trying to puzzle this thing out and resolve the narrative issues and prejudices and figure out how this place actually works. (Poorly.)

So there's one more book series, with a co-authors credit between Anne and Todd, next, about miners and watch-whers. It looks like it might be shedding some light on a spot that we haven't seen in focus yet, which always makes me happy, and anticipate another continuity snarl.

We'll start Dragon's Kin next week.


End file.
